Kulusuk: Difference between revisions

|name = Kulusuk

|other_name = Kap Dan

|imagesize = 300px

|image_shield =

|shield_size =

| subdivision_name1 = {{Flag|Greenland}}

| subdivision_type2 = [[Administrative divisions of Greenland|Municipality]]

| subdivision_type3 =

| subdivision_name3 =

|leader_title = Mayor

|leader_name = Pele Maratse

|established_title = Founded

|established_date = 1909

|timezone = [[UTC-03]]

|coordinates = {{coord|65|34|31|N|37|11|00|W|region:GL|display=inline,title}}

}}

 

 

== Geography ==

 

=== Kulusuk Island ===

 

=== Qalorujoorneq===

The highest point on the island is the summit of [[Qalorujoorneq]], at {{convert|676|m|ft|1|abbr=on}}<ref name="lp"/> topping a wide mountain massif in the southeast, directly above the airport.

 

 

=== From prehistory until 15th century ===

The [[Saqqaq culture|Saqqaq people]] were the first to reach eastern Greenland, arriving from the north<ref name="easthistory">[http://eastgreenland.com/database.asp?lang=eng&num=201 eastgreenland.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422153512/http://www.eastgreenland.com/database.asp?lang=eng&num=201 |date=2009-04-22 }} ''History of East Greenland''</ref> through what is now known as [[Peary Land]] and [[Independence Fjord]]. They were displaced by the [[Dorset culture]] around 3,000 years ago. The [[Thule people]] passed through the area in the 15th century,<ref name="easthistory"/> finding the southeastern coast uninhabited.

 

=== 18th and 19th centuries ===

 

=== 20th century ===

[[File:Kulusuk, cemetery (6822276423).jpg|thumb|left|The village cemetery]]

 

[[File:Kulusuk-winter-sunset.jpg|thumb|Western part of the village: the winter sunset light reflected in the window glass]]

 

In the 1930s the population reached 165 inhabitants,<ref name="east"/> the village surpassing the older Tasiilaq as the largest settlement in the region. As of 2013, Kulusuk is the third-largest settlement in the region, after Tasiilaq and [[Kuummiit]], and the fourth-largest on the eastern coast,<ref name="localpop"/> although the number of villagers dipped below 300 in the late 2000s.

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== Language ==

 

== Facilities ==

[[File:Post-greenland-kulusuk.jpg|thumb|''Kalaallit alakkeriviat'', the post office of [[Post Greenland]]]]

 

Few families have access to running water.<ref name="lp"/> Despite the harsh, icy winter, [[Drinking water|potable water]] drawn from the centrally located lake is available all year round through the central pump installation. As in most settlements in Greenland, pipe waterworks are led above the ground due to [[permafrost]].

 

The village is served by the communal all-purpose [[Pilersuisoq]] store with an integrated a post office of Post Greenland.

 

== Tourism ==

[[File:Terianniaq-Qaqortaq-arctic-fox.jpg|thumb|A curious [[Arctic fox]], the permanent inhabitant of the island]]

 

 

In winter it is possible to cross the frozen sounds, making Kulusuk no less attractive for [[Mountaineering|mountaineers]], climbers, and polar adventurers than the neighboring Tasiilaq. The mountains on [[Apusiaajik Island]] dominating the Kulusuk panorama culminate in several summits, whilst the front of the active Apusiaajik [[glacier]] can be reached on foot or by [[snowmobile]].

The village is served by [[Kulusuk Airport]], one of two international airports in eastern Greenland. It provides direct connections to Nuuk on the western coast, [[Reykjavík]] in [[Iceland]], and Tasiilaq on [[Ammassalik Island]], which links many other villages in the region through settlement helicopter flights.<ref>[http://airgreenland.com/ankomster__afgange/ Air Greenland, Departures and Arrivals] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309004005/http://airgreenland.com/ankomster__afgange/ |date=2010-03-09 }}</ref>

 

 

In the winter, the inhabitants of the village use snowmobiles and traditional dogsleds as additional means of transport−families arriving at the airport are ferried to the settlement on both. Dogsleds are then left briefly untended, albeit accidental escapes amongst the dogs are rendered impossible through overturning the sled, and binding of the front paws of the dog pack leaders.

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== Climate ==

[[File:Kulusuk-tiivtingaleq-icebound.jpg|thumb|Open-air [[Bivouac sack|bivouac]] in winter in the icebound bay of Tiivtingaleq. The February ice is hard enough to require that the hooks of a polar [[Sleeping bag|mummy sleeping bag]] be fastened to the ice with a screw]]

As an outlying island in the small [[archipelago]] of islands in the Ammassalik region, Kulusuk Island is the most exposed to the persistent northeasterly winds from the [[Greenland Sea]]. Although the average winter temperatures are higher than in the more northerly settlements on the west coast of Greenland−often in single digits below zero−the ferocity of winds<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lswilson.ca/dye4pics.htm|title=DEWLine Sites in Canada, Alaska & Greenland|website=The DEWLine}}</ref> brings the effective temperatures down by more than an order of magnitude. During a quarter or more January days the island experiences wind speeds between 8 and 10 on the [[Beaufort scale]], qualifying as fresh gales, strong gales, or storms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wunderground.com/history/station/04361/2009/1/9/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA|title=Weather History for Kulusuk Lufthavn, #HISTORY.statename - Weather Underground|website=www.wunderground.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wunderground.com/history/station/04361/2010/1/9/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA|title=Weather History for Kulusuk Lufthavn, #HISTORY.statename - Weather Underground|website=www.wunderground.com}}</ref>

 

 

[[File:Kulusuk-rime-ice.jpg|thumb|[[Moraine]] boulders under Qalorujoorneq: rime ice windblasted on the northeast-facing surfaces]]

 

== References ==

 

==External links==

 

{{Settlements in Greenland}}

 

[[Category:Populated places in Greenland]]